HOW WE'RE HELPING GARDENERS DURING COVID-19:
While we can't meet you in person until the health crisis ends, our volunteers are still active and available to assist you online.
We are currently offering virtual advice clinics, presentations and workshops via Zoom. Here are just a few of the many presentations we offer:
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Houseplants: Our Constant Garden
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Landscaping with Trees and Large Shrubs
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Putting the Garden to Bed
Have a garden question? Visit our Ask a Master Gardener page.
We'll update this notice if things change. Meanwhile, stay safe, and happy gardening.
Believe it or not, the first frost date for the GTA is late September. If a frost is forecast, protect tender plants with an old sheet; bring in plants that cannot withstand any frost and harvest fruits/vegetables that will be damaged by even a light frost.
This time of year, we get a lot of worried inquiries about conifer needles turning brown. Relax, it's probably just normal for the trees. Here are the details, from Margaret Loach, A Way to Garden
when inner conifer needles turn yellow or brown - A Way To Garden
awaytogarden.com
DON’T PANIC: Nothing’s wrong, and they’re not all dying in unison, I promise. Though we commonly call them “evergreens,” conifers such as pine, arborvitae, spruce..We're a horticultural education group, not a cooking club ... but, in case you are wondering what to do with all those tomatoes that won't ripen.
Fresh and Tasty Fried Green Tomatoes
www.growveg.com
Will your tomatoes color up before the shutters come down on the growing season? Who cares when you can use up firm, green tomatoes in a most delicious way: fried green tomatoes...How do you use your side yard? A little walkway filled with trash cans and the air conditioner? Or a garden highlight? Check out the possibilities here.
www.papergardenworkshop.com
Most residential landscapes include a front yard, backyard and the side yards that connect the front and back. Each of these spaces have their purpose, with most of our attention typically going towar...Excellent Globe and Mail article about the history of the lawn and why it is so difficult to manage. It doesn't belong here!
Is it time to decolonize your lawn?
www.theglobeandmail.com
The traditional lawn – manicured, verdant, under control – now finds itself at the confluence of two hot-button issues: climate change and Indigenous rightsWhile moving and dividing your spring and summer blooming perennials, enrich the entire area with compost, not the planting holes.
Many butterflies overwinter here. Find a corner of your garden that is in the sun and out of the wind where you can create a brush pile and have some leaf litter in which the butterflies can hibernate – a little bit of wilderness for them.
Make sure you clear all diseased material from your garden to prevent pest and disease problems next spring. Burn the diseased material or put it in the garbage, not in your compost! Clean, healthy plant debris can be chopped up and spread over the beds in a shallow layer.
Planting a tree too deep can kill it. The flare (the base of the tree where the trunk becomes wider – just above the roots) should be left exposed. If it's covered with soil or mulch, the tree base will rot and the tree will die. This tree is at risk!
Take advantage of the still-warm soil and upcoming rains by planting trees, shrubs, and evergreens. When selecting a tree or shrub, consider mature size; exposure to sun, wind and road salt; tolerance to urban pollution; soil and drainage. The right plant in the right location!
Master Gardeners of Ontario
Compost Council of Canada
Toronto Region Conservation Authority
Toronto Botanical Gardens
City of Toronto
Toronto Public Library
